Mail-bag fastening



UNITED STATES PATnNT Ormea..

IIOMFR L. BOYLIL, OF GRAND RAPIDS, ASSIGNOR OF ONEIIALF lO 'HORACE Il. ICK, OF ALLEGA, l\ll(.llI(.\'.

VIAlLBAG FASTENING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters :Patent No. 397,689, dated February 12, 1889.

Application filed August l, 1888. Serial No. 281,686. (No model.)

T0 all 107mm it may concern:

Be it known that I, I'IOMER L. BOYLE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Grand Rapids, in the county of Kent and State of 5 Michigan, have invented certain new and uselul Improvements in Fastenings for 'Mail- Bags; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in io the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in fastenings for mail-bags, which are provided with such fastenings at intervals, such fast 15 enings being iinally secured by a lock.

The objects of my invention are to provide a durable and simple device that can be quickly manipulated and to so arrange the parts that they will be protected from injury and not easily accessible from the outside. I accomplish these results by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in

which- Figure l represents an elevation of an open mail-bag having attached a device embodying my invention; Fig. 2, a vertical section ot' the same on the line :if .fr of Fig. l; Fig. 3, the same as Fig. l closed; Fig. 4, a vertical section of the same on the line y y of Fig. 3, and Fig. 5 a detail of the T-bolt and arm attached.

Like letters refer to like parts in all the iigures.

A is the bag proper, havi ng a Hap, 13, adapted to fold over the end and close the openi ng in the usual way.

C are plates secured to the sido of the` bag, having oblong openings D to receive the T- boltsG, which are attached to the flap 'B (in proper position to engage with said openings D) by means ol plates ll, within which said bolts are rotated and held in position by means of the arms li, which are attach ed to the shanks of said bolts and connected at their movable ends by the flexible bar I, which ba-r is operated by the lever-plate E', which is pivoted near one end to the last boltin the series, and also pivotcd to the end of said bar I, the relalive position ot the said pivots bein the same as those connectin the arms K to the bolts G and the bar l. The pivot N passes through a curved slot in the outer material of vthe flap, which slot is covered by the lever-plate E. The movable end of the plate E is provided with an opening, F', which, when the device is locked, corresponds and coincides with a similar opening, F, in a vfixed plate, E, secured to and projecting from` the side of the bag. Through these openings is thrust the hasp of a padlock to secure and lock the device. The bar I is made shorter than the width of the bag, so that it and arms l are entirely inclosed between parallel pieces of matcrialconstituting the iiap B, which serves to protect said bar and arms and hide them from sight and also to keep the various sections of the bar in line, so thatit will operate all the bolts at once. Said bar I maybe a continuous strip of flexible material or maybe a series ot' rectangular plates hinged to each other to give flexibility. I prefer the latter construction.

L is a chamber behind the plate C, within which the head of the Tbolt turns.

It desirable, the plates C maybe located upon the inner surfaceof the other side of the bag, allowing the T-bolts to strike through openings in the side next the Iiap, or plates may be placed in both places and the T-bolts engaged with either series, as most convenient.

The operation of my device is as follows: By rotating-the plate E about the pivot O. all the T-bolts are caused to rotate upon their axes, and when said plate in the position shown in Fig. l the longer dimension of the heads ci said bol ts corresponds with that of the openings in the plates (t, and the said heads can be detached from said plates. By closing the flap B, inserting the bolts G in the openings D, and tu rn i n the plate E a quarter-revo lution, as shown in Figs. 23 and il, theheads of the T-bolts will all be turned at right angles to the openings I) and engage with the inner surface of the plates (l. rlhe ilap will. thus be secured to thc side of the bag at each point corresponding to the location of each pair of bolts and ]Ldates. rlhe detached character ot' each tastening,thc flexibility ol' thebar I, and the freedom of the shanks of the T-bolts to slide along in the openings l) render the bag flexible and the fastening devices secure and IOO not liable to breakage, and when closed and secured the fastening devices are all hidden from sight and protected by the outer material of the flap B, except the plates E and E and the lock M, which are necessarily accessible. The plate E also operates as a lever and enables me to turn the T-bolts more easily.

\Vhat I claim, and wish to secure by Letters Patent, is as follows:

l. In combination with the body of a mail-bag and the plates U, attached thereto and slotted at I), the flap B, provided with plates H, the T-bolts G G, extending through these plates and adapted to enter said slots, the arms K, attached. to said bolts, the bar I, attached to said arms, thc plate E', )ivoted ou said-flap and attached to the end et' saidstrap, the plate E, attached to the body of the bag,

and the padlock M, forlocking said plates t0- gether, substantially as set forth.

2. A mail-bag' having abody, A, and flap B, the latter provided With an interior chamber or space, of a bar moving` longitudinally in said space, a series of arms attached to said bar, a series of inWardly-extending T-bolts attached to and operated by said arms, and the body of the mail-bag,` adapted to be engaged by said T-bolts, the above fastening devices being wholly covered when the bag is closed, substantially as set forth.'

In testimony whereof I aflii my signature in presence of two witnesses.

HOMER L. BOYLE. Iituessesr JOHN Il'. REMPIS,

'LUTHER Y. MoUL'roN. 

